GM Settles Suit Over Van Rollover

General Motors Corp. agreed to an out-of-court settlement with survivors of a rollover wreck that killed a tourist returning from an excursion to Sequoia National Park.

Binglin Duan, a retired history professor from China, was traveling with six family members and friends when their rented Chevrolet Astro van rolled over three to five times on a curvy downhill stretch of California 180 in August 1999. Duan suffered severe head injuries and died from them in 2001 at the age of 65.

His daughter Yu Duan, a Maryland resident who was traveling with the group, filed a wrongful death suit against GM claiming that the van was defective due to a high rollover risk and weak roof. Four other survivors of the accident also sued.

GM defended the vehicle’s design and argued the driver lost control because he driving was too fast.

The settlement was reached after jurors left Los Angeles Superior Court following a seventh day of deliberations. Lawyers for both sides declined to comment.

Myron Levin